More than most countries, Haiti seems to be defined by its statistics: 80% of the population living below the poverty line; the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; 316,000 killed in the 2010 earthquake; 52.9% literacy rate; the average Haitian earns $1,300 per year. We could go on. On numbers alone, one is tempted to think of Haiti as a lost cause — a hopeless monolith of misery not worth our time or concern. That's where a lot of people begin and end on Haiti.